President Rodrigo Duterte threatens to arrest people who refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19 amid prevailing hesitancy in the population.
“Kung ayaw mo magpabakuna, inaaresto kita. At ang bakuna, itusok ko sa puwet mo. [Expletives] bwisit kayo,” Duterte said in a speech on Monday.
“Magpabakuna kayo or ipakulong ko kayo sa selda,” he warned.
His remarks came following reports of low turnouts at several vaccination sites in Manila.
For those who refuse to get vaccinated, the President said he will order to inject them with anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin.
Duterte stressed that unvaccinated people are still carriers of the disease. “I will think it over very hard, legally of course, in pursuance of a policy of crisis, this health issue,” he said.
He also ordered local government units to keep a list of people who are still unvaccinated.
“I will order all the barangay captains to have a tally of all the people who refuse to be vaccinated,” Duterte said.
